When a tray with a disk moves into a disk drive, a clamper and a turntable are used for clamping and rotating the disk. Please refer to FIG. 1. During operation of a disk drive 4, disk 1 is placed on a tray 2 and then the tray 2 moves into the disk drive 4. After the disk on the tray moves into the disk drive 4, the clamper 3 and the turntable (located under the clamper and not shown in the FIG. 1) are clamping the disk together on the tray. The relationship of the clamper 3 and the turntable 5 is as shown in FIG. 2. The clamper 3 is usually made by metal, such as stainless steel, and the turntable 5 has a magnet disposed thereon. When the tray 2 moves into disk drive 4 with the disk 1 thereon, the magnet on the turntable 5 attracts the clamper 3 to clamping the disk.
However, the tray 2 does not always move into the disk drive 4 with a disk thereon. When the tray 2 moves into the disk drive 4 without a disk thereon, the magnet on the turntable 5 still attracts the clamper 3 as shown in FIG. 3a. FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional diagram along the line I–I′ in FIG. 3a. When the tray is introduced into the disk drive without a disk thereon, the clamper 3 and the turntable 5 are adjacent to each other due to the magnet on the turntable 5 attracting the clamper 3. In the attracting process, the clamper 3 and the turntable 5 hit each other and a hitting noise is produced.
FIG. 3c is an enlarged diagram showing a region, which is encircled in the FIG. 3b, near the central portion of the clamper 3. Hitting energy produced from the clamper 3 and the turntable hitting each other makes the clamper 3 vibrate and noise is generated.
In order to reduce noise in a disk drive, the present invention replaces the clamper 3 with an improved one to reduce noise from the vibration of the clamper 3.